Chương 39: Chapter 38: The Imperial Bloodline (14)

The next morning, Edras did not begin with practice. He entered the training chamber carrying a flat leather document case tucked beneath one arm, its flap stamped with Duke Ordaan's seal. Teren looked at it.

"That was quick." The old mage didn't reply until he had locked the door and activated the wards.

"I expected you to agree." Edras set the case on the table beside the practice materials.

"I had two of the senior clerks begin preparing the necessary documents yesterday. Your message last night merely told me they would be needed for certain." That explained why Edras had managed to arrive with everything before breakfast.

"The duke has agreed to sponsor your admission," Edras continued.

"Quietly. His letter will go directly to the headmaster, along with my recommendation. The rest of the Academy does not need to know that Ordaan had anything to do with your admission."

"So I'm still Teren Marr there?"

"Yes. We saw no reason to give you another name, since it might create new problems, and you having the Corvadryn bloodline hasn't been mentioned anywhere in the document." Edras rested a hand on the document case.

"As far as the Academy is concerned, you are just a young man from Karthane who began his magical education unusually late. The headmaster will know who your sponsor is, but even he will not be told about your bloodline." Teren nodded. Knowing that he would not have to change his name sounded considerably easier than remembering an entirely different identity. Edras moved toward the sand square.

"There is another matter you should understand before you leave for Othmir. Most students spend at least four years in the Junior Academy before entering the Senior Academy, which you are expected to join. Noble families sometimes arrange private instruction instead of sending their children through the Junior Academy for safety reasons, like it was done in the case of Cassian and Elaryn.

But you have only had a few days of training, so your actual knowledge is not comparable even to someone who has completed those four years of Junior Academy." Teren frowned.

"Then will I even get into the Senior Academy?"

"You will. The duke's sponsorship and my recommendation should ensure that much. But the headmaster will decide which year to place you in after testing you." Teren snorted.

"I guess that means first year."

"Almost certainly. You have some basic control over mana and can already produce a simple fire spell, which should be enough along with our recommendations to keep you out of the Junior Academy. But you are still missing years of instruction that the other students received before they entered the Senior Academy." Teren gave a nod. Joining the first year would still put him behind where someone his age normally belonged, but if the other students were only two years younger, he could deal with it.

Sitting in a classroom with thirteen-year-olds would have been beyond embarrassing. He could already imagine how ridiculous he would look among them. Edras seemed to notice his expression.

"You should understand that first year does not mean everyone there will be seventeen. Seventeen is simply the minimum age for entering the Senior Academy. Students only advance once they meet the requirements for their year, since not every student advances to the next year on their first attempt. Some need more than one year to do that."

"Oh. So there could be people my age in the first year?"

"There certainly will be, and some may even be older than you. Students who fail to meet the requirements for the next year can remain where they are and try again—and not everyone who enters the Academy makes it to graduation. Most of your classmates will still be younger than you, but you will hardly be the only nineteen-year-old in a first-year class." That made the idea a little less embarrassing. Then Teren remembered the arrogant prodigy who would be going to Othmir with him.

"Cassian is nineteen too, though."

"Yes, and he is beginning his third year because he has never needed to repeat one. Students who progress normally enter at seventeen and graduate at twenty-one. Someone as talented as Cassian would certainly be expected to follow that schedule," Edras said, "even if many students take longer to graduate from the Senior Academy." Teren could hardly compare himself to a prodigy like Cassian anyway. He still had trouble keeping a small flame steady.

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"You mentioned a test they use to decide where to place you. I'm not sure I'll even know what to do there."

"Don't worry about it. It will be another mana assay, though considerably more thorough than the one used at the gate compounds. They will measure your mana, identify your primary affinity, and get a general idea of your magical ability and control. The headmaster will consider those results along with your stated background before deciding which year to place you in." Edras's expression grew more serious.

"When they perform the assay test, be very careful about how you use your mana. Focus only on the ordinary response, exactly as we practiced with the training crystal. Do not reach for your Corvadryn bloodline at all. It is the same mana, but you already know what happens when you shape it that way. If their assay crystal turns purple, we will have a much bigger problem than where they decide to place you." Teren nodded. He didn't need to imagine the problems that would cause. He looked down at his hand.

"And if I do badly there?"

"You will still have a place in the Senior Academy. That is what Ordaan's sponsorship and my recommendation are for. The test determines where you begin, not whether they admit you." Teren could live with that. Getting inside the Academy was what mattered. Once he was there, he could worry about catching up.

"Still, do not make the mistake of judging your progress against Cassian," Edras said.

"He is already a third-circle mage before beginning his third year at the academy. He may reach the fourth circle before he graduates, if not even higher. That is not normal progress." Teren snorted.

"I noticed." Edras gave him a brief look, probably remembering that Teren had met Cassian more than once by now.

"You are starting late," he said, "but four years of proper instruction at the Academy will still be immensely valuable for you. Even if you only reach second circle by the end of it, which is the minimum requirement for graduating, you will still be far less vulnerable than you are now. Proper combat training matters as much as the circle level itself. A knife in an alley or an ordinary attacker becomes a very different problem when you can actually defend yourself with magic." That caught Teren's attention.

Edras had no idea how many things had already killed him. A hidden blade. Monsters. White fire. A heavy post that had been meant to end a tournament match rather than his life. Reaching second-circle level would not make him safe, and anyone who came specifically hunting a surviving Corvadryn could still be far beyond him. But there were plenty of deaths he might have survived if he had been stronger.

"For now," Edras said, "that should be your concern. Learn. Get stronger. And keep the purple mana hidden." Teren nodded. He had no intention of telling anyone at the Academy what he was. Whatever value the Corvadryn bloodline might have, announcing it while he could barely make an ordinary flame was only asking to die again. Edras touched the runic lines beside the sand square, and a faint shimmer passed through the ward carvings before fading.

"You leave in three days," he said.

"Cassian and Elaryn were already scheduled to depart for Othmir, along with a few other students from Karthane. You will travel with them on one of Duke Ordaan's airships. The academy fees will also be taken care of by him, so you don't have to worry about that." Teren had expected that after his conversation with Elaryn, although hearing that everything was already arranged made the trip suddenly feel much closer. He looked back at the document case.

"What does the duke expect for all this? He is doing way too much to help me, but he barely knows me." It was the one part Edras had said little about.

"He has not asked you to swear an oath to him, if that is what concerns you. For now, he expects you to keep your bloodline secret, cooperate with the people protecting you, and avoid drawing unnecessary attention." Edras paused.

"If you become a powerful mage someday, Ordaan will probably expect you to remember who helped you when you had nothing." That was about what Teren had expected. A duke did not arrange private admission to the Academy, provide protection, and send someone across the continent without wanting anything in return. Still, Ordaan had given him no reason to refuse. Teren had arrived at this place in chains. Now he had a room in the palace, Edras teaching him magic, and a place waiting at the Academy.

"I can live with that," he said. Edras opened the document case and drew out several folded sheets.

"Read these before you leave. Most of it is routine enrollment material. There are also a few details about your background that the clerks have put on record so you do not give different answers if someone asks where you came from." Teren took the papers.

"Learn what they wrote," Edras said.

"You do not need to volunteer any of it, but try not to contradict your own documents." Teren nodded and looked down at Duke Ordaan's seal pressed into the first page. Until now, the Academy had mostly been something Edras and the red-haired elf had talked about. Seeing the duke's seal on the paperwork made it feel real. More importantly, none of his previous loops had ever given him a way to reach it. He set the papers carefully beside the document case.

"I'll memorize them." Edras stepped toward the edge of the sand square.

"We still have most of the hour. Let's start with ordinary fire. If your control remains steady, we will work on the purple fire afterward." Teren moved into position and raised his hand. He would have to make the most of the next three days and learn whatever he could from Edras before he left for the Imperial Mana Academy at Othmir.